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Category Archives: Original Essays
What is Sufism? Part 4: Ritualism and Spirituality
by Navid Zaidi Every orthodox religion is wedded to its own body of rituals, customs and external observances. Also, it considers its own system superior to others. Consequently that becomes a source of conflict. But Sufis look at all humanity … Continue reading
Posted in Classic Poetry, Classic Teaching, Navid Zaidi, Original Essays
Tagged Bulleh Shah, Guru Nanak, religion, ritualism, spirituality, Sufism, Sultan Bahu
5 Comments
No Pain, No Gain?
by Modaser Shah Ghalib, the well-known Urdu poet, in one of his ghazals says: In the dream my thoughts were involved with you; when I woke up, I found neither loss nor gain. “The belief that a deeper connection is … Continue reading
Posted in Classic Poetry, Classic Teaching, Modaser Shah, Original Essays
Tagged Ghalib, Lao Tzu, Laozi, nonaction, nonviolence, philosophy, Religion and Spirituality, Ryokan, satyagraha, Taoism
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The Delicate Secret: Relationship of Humans, God and Universe
by Navid Zaidi کیہہ کردا نی کیہہ کردا نی کوئی پچھو کھاں دلبر کیہہ کردا وچ مسیت نماز گزاریں،بت خانے جا وڑدا آپ اکو کئی لکھ گھراں دے،مالک ایہہ گھر گھر دا اکے گھر وچ وسدیاں رسدیاں،نہیں ہوندا وچ پردا … Continue reading
Characteristics of the Mystic Experience
by Navid Zaidi One way of establishing connection with Reality is through sense-perception. The other way is through direct association with that Reality as it reveals within the soul. Sense-perception must be supplemented by what the Quran calls Fuad or Qalb, meaning … Continue reading
Does Eternal Life Belong to Those Who Live in the Present?
by Modaser Shah “Eternal life belongs to those who live in the present,” Wittgenstein, in Tractatus, quoted in Less Than Nothing by Slavoj Žižek. Some random associations: This sounds more like a koan than a philosopher’s proposition, hence the meaning … Continue reading
What is Sufism? Part 3: The State of Trance
by Navid Zaidi As the soul is completely withdrawn from the body and concentrated within, it is said to be in a state of trance. It has awakened from deep sleep. It is at this stage that man is able … Continue reading
Posted in Classic Poetry, Classic Teaching, Navid Zaidi, Original Essays
Tagged Amir Khusrow, Bayazid Bastami, Born again, Buddha, Bulleh Shah, Fanafillah, Jesus, Know thyself, Mansur Hallaj
2 Comments
Evolution of the Self: The Qur’anic Viewpoint
by Navid Zaidi Darwin’s theory of evolution explains how life progressed through stages leading to the development of humans. But what about the future of individual human life? Has life reached its climax in the humans or are we going … Continue reading
Salvation, Heaven, and Hell: The Qur’anic Viewpoint
by Navid Zaidi Heaven and Hell are not places. They are states, or conditions of the soul’s existence, in the life after death. Their descriptions in the Qur’an are visual representations of an inner fact, i.e., their character. Hell, in … Continue reading
The Strings that tie the Mystics of the Indian Subcontinent
by Ali Hammad Not just the strings of commonality of ideas but strings of the musical instruments of the Indian subcontinent tie its mystics, be they Sufi, Yogi, Buddhist, or Sikh. Sufis found arts—poetry, music, dance—conducive to a mystic state … Continue reading
Posted in Ali Hammad, Original Essays
Tagged Classic Indian music, Classic music of South Asia, peace, salaam, sarangi, sarod, shanti, sitar, Sufi music, tambura, tanpura
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Sufi Ways 